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Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau both won Most Valuable Player awards while wearing a Twins jersey. Johan Santana picked up a pair of Cy Young awards and should have grabbed a third. It hasn’t been since Marty Cordova that the franchise has had a Rookie of the Year award winner, but maybe Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, or Edouard Julien could change those fortunes. This season though, Joey Gallo could pull a Francisco Liriano and win the Comeback Player of the Year.
Back in 2006, Liriano was among the best pitchers in baseball. He posted a 2.16 ERA across 121 innings and generated an All-Star nod and nearly a Rookie of the Year award. He then blew out his arm and missed the entire 2007 season, returning for just 76 innings during the 2008 season. Liriano was clearly not himself in 2009 and his 136 2/3 innings that year equated to a gaudy 5.80 ERA.
That’s when the comeback happened. In 2010, the Twins starter worked 31 games spanning nearly 200 innings. He posted a solid 3.62 ERA. He wasn’t untouchable, but the 2.66 FIP shares a story of an arm that was even better than his results indicated, and Minnesota looked at a glimpse of what they saw from their rookie phenom. When the dust settled, a yearly award was presented.
For the first time since, Minnesota could be in line for another similar outcome.
After a terrible year split between New York and Los Angeles, Joey Gallo signed with the Twins on an $11 million deal. Yes, a one-year deal hardly gives him longevity, but this is a guy who has destroyed vehicles with home run balls at Target Field. As much as he should have seen success through the short porch at Yankees Stadium, things simply didn’t work out.
A lack of a shift might help Gallo to some extent, but given his ability to lift the baseball, there is plenty of reason for him to succeed at Target Field regardless of the positioning from defenders. Gallo is going to bring a Gold Glove caliber defensive ability, and that holds true both in the outfield and at first base. Given the uncertainty of Alex Kirilloff, the versatility from the former Rangers All-Star is massively valuable.
Unfortunately, the Twins have already seen Gallo miss some time due to injury, but he has been a relative pillar of health over the course of his career. Always a hulking power prospect, Gallo has been well above league average offensively in four of the past five full seasons. His batting average is not anything to write home about, but his on-base prowess combined with the slugging potential is always something to behold.
Playing both the outfield and first base for Rocco Baldelli’s Twins thus far, Gallo is off to a hot start. A multi-homer game is already something he has notched under his belt, and seven RBI through the same amount of games put him on pace to blow by his 2022 run producing numbers.
Sometimes players aren’t meant to compete in a larger market, and there is no denying that New York was harsh with the Rangers transplant. He never settled in, and going to the Dodgers from there did no one any favors. Settling into a more agreeable market with Minnesota makes sense, and it appears that Twins hitting coach David Popkins has made his mark early.
Maybe Joey Gallo won't be otherworldly this season, but his numbers could have him noteworthy enough to be recognized league wide. Trey Mancini captured an American League Comeback Player of the Year award after beating cancer, and Justin Verlander did it following Tommy John surgery. Maybe Gallo doesn’t have the same narrative or story, but settling back into who he was as a player would be a great development.







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